Bill Belew has raised 2 bi-cultural kids, now 34 and 30. And he and his wife are now parenting a 3rd, Mia, who is 8.

Not Listening to Parents

Parents complain that we children don’t listen to them.

I listen to my mommy and daddy. I just don’t do what they ask me all the time. Does anybody ever do everything they are asked to do? Even mommies and daddies?

My friends tell me that if they don’t listen to their mommies and daddies something very interesting happens.

First: The parents will beg them to listen or do something.

When that doesn’t work –

The parents will bargain with them. Ice Cream? A movie? A candy? A trip to Disneyland.

If we hold out –

The parents might try to bribe. I will give you $5. $10. A new iPad mini game.

Then words:

Blah blah blah blah … can’t really follow it when there are too many words put together in several sentences.

Then a scary part:

Threats! No more this. No more that.

The scariest part of all comes next.

Yelling and screaming.

But all kids need to do is hang tough till more bargaining and bribing come.

Then we can take the best deal offered.

And all the kid needs to do is just sit and not listen. How hard is that?

The best option – in as few words as possible, tell me what to do and leave me no option but to do it. If so, we kids will listen. At least most of the time.

Read: Parenting discipline problems – arguing with parents

Talk to Bill and others about their experiences raising bi-cultural Japanese-American kids.